Management instruments for marine allocation and use

A report commissioned by the Commonwealth Department of Primary Industries and Energy September 1997

Commonwealth of Australia
ISBN 0 642 54506 5

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Management Instruments for Marine Allocation and Use (PDF - 193 KB)

Executive summary

The Australian Government is committed to developing a comprehensive and integrated Oceans Policy to manage effectively the resources and uses of the Exclusive Economic Zone (11 million square kilometres) and, potentially, another 5 million square kilometres of waters under State and Territory responsibility.

This report focuses on management instruments. It displays a wide range of incentive instruments and exemplifies their potential role for the management of marine resources and uses. The term incentive instrument is interpreted broadly, including financial and economic instruments as well as legal and regulatory instruments, education, co-management, voluntary approaches, community-based mechanisms and research.

A set of criteria is established for the evaluation of individual management instruments. These criteria are:

effectiveness and dependability;
precaution;
productive and economic efficiency;
continuing incentive and innovation;
administrative feasibility and cost;
equity and distributional effects; and
community and political acceptability.

The management instruments are further placed in the context of principles for policy design which include:

user pays and polluter pays;
cost sharing;
sense of community, ownership and stewardship;
adaptive systems; and
ecosystem approach.

The report discusses the potential and applicability of an appropriate selection of incentive instruments in the context of managing marine resources and uses. It explores potential management instruments to:

improve water quality of streams; estuaries and oceans;
create sustainable fisheries;
ensure sustainable marine tourism and recreation;
manage conflict between user and interest groups; and
ensure environmentally sound marine transport, petroleum exploration and mining.

With respect to administrative arrangements, the report suggests alternatives to the current institutional framework which may be better suited to managing the ocean-land interface and the multiple uses of the oceans in a sustainable manner.